12 S P R I N G ISSUE Mainely Agriculture || Equi Ag & Livestock || Aqua Agriculture 2015

Bee Whisperers Diary

, aka
is an
experienced Maine beekeeper known for
prroducing Hampden Honey. His passion
for bees - includes pollination, teaching, sales
of bees and removal of feral hives.
www.beewhisperer.us

n my
column at the end of December I
made the silly comment that we hadnt had a prolonged period of
bitter cold yet which was good for the bees. Big mistake! Mother
Nature has indeed made up for her earlier kindness and put the
over-wintering bees through a good test. Its now coming up to a
month where its been in the minus numbers at night more often
than the positive and daytime temps rarely higher than 20. The
saving grace has been that we have had snow, lots of snow, and
that acts somewhat like an insulating blanket and protects the
hives from the worst of the cold and biting wind.
Right now the bees are clustered up tightly generating heat by
vibrating their bodies. With some hives you can listen to them
and hear the very low buzz. I prefer the nearly silent hives who
have the ability to keep going with the absolute minimum of
activity (and hence usage of food stores). As soon as the worst of
the really cold days has past they will increase activity and
temperatures will be built up to 98 degrees in the center of the
cluster. At those temperatures they will start to rear the first brood
of 2015.

colonies in Maine. They sell out fast. There is a huge number of

new enthusiasts starting beekeeping this year. These packages,
which cost $125 each, contain a queen bee and about 12,000
worker bees. It is very quick and easy to install those bees into a
new beehive which is made up of a bottom board, a deep super
(box) which contains ten frames and wax foundation for the bees
to build their honeycombs on. This is topped with an inner cover
and an outer, telescopic cover. Then the bees will just need feeding
while they build their combs and raise lots of babies to build up
their number. In about 40-50 days they will need their second box
of frames and foundation added. Feeding is continued till both
boxes are filled with comb. The whole set-up costs about $190.
IfIf you are interested in keeping bees you should check
www.mainebeekeepers.org for a beekeeping class near you. If you
need any further help feel free to contact me.

Pick up, Amish cart collide in Unity

Most of my hives are more than half buried in snow some are
totally buried. The heat they generate is melting a little cave in
the snow at the hive entrance and even a chimney up to the fresh
air. I will clear the snow from the southern face of those hives as
we approach some warmer days.
Very soon we will see what the damage, if any has been. As
the air temperature nears 40 and the sun beats down on the hives
they will start to take quick cleansing flights. For a brief time
there can be very substantial bee activity in front of the hive.
Once they have had their cleansing flights they usually start to
drag out the dead bodies of their sisters who did not make it
through the previous cold spell.
Whilst this can be a sad sight it is also a sign that this is a hive
that is doing well and so far has made it through the winter. The
more hives I see like that the better.
I will need to check that each colony still has plenty of food
to get through the rest of the winter. This can be done by lifting
the back of the hive to check the weight, or where they are frozen
to the stand, by popping up the cover and checking to see if I can
see that the cluster is in contact with combs of sealed honey.
Those that are too light or appear to have nearly used up their
food reserves will get some extra food in the form of winter
patties which are basically soft sugar candy.
Those hives that have made it through the winter will be my
breeding stock for this year to split those hives into numerous
small nucleus colonies which will be headed by queens which
I will raise from the very best of over wintered hives. Year 2015
is going to be a very busy year for me as a beekeeper. A large part
of my increased activity will be with my partnering with my
friend and mentor Harold Swan who runs RBSwan and Son Bee
Supply business in Brewer, ME. This year I am handling all of
the live bee business. In late April we will be bringing more than
200 three pound packages of bees up from the south to start new

An Amish horse-drawn cart was hit by a pickup truck

Saturday evening Feb. 28 by an 83-year-old Newburgh man who
now faces charges after he failed to stop. Robert Veinote was
driving a 1996 GMC pickup truck northbound on Thorndike Road
at about 6 p.m when he is alleged to have struck the left side of a
trailer cart being drawn with a forecart, and a team of two horses,
according to Maine State Police Trooper Corey Smith.
The impact appears to have thrown the two occupants from the
forecart and hay trailer and knocked a horse down, Smith told the
press. Operator of the cart, 28-year-old Abner Stoll of Unity,
suffered minor cuts and scrapes. Passenger, Jason Stoll, 14, also of
Unity and the horses were uninjured. The tire and rim on the cart
were damaged, as well as some of the harness equipment.
V Veinote allegedly did not stop after striking the cart, but Smith
said troopers soon located the truck, which sustained minor damage.
He said he didnt know hed hit them, Smith said. He thought it
was debris in the road. Veinote was also charged with operating
without a license, although Smith said additional charges may be
forthcoming when the investigation is completed. Witnesses indicated square bales dropped from the Veinote vehicle, some of
which were hit by passer by automobiles. The round bales on the
horse cart remained on the damaged cart.

Franklin County
Feed Store

Feed Store

FEED, HARDWARE, TOOL RENTAL Whitewater Farm Market

Farmington Farmers Union

US Rte.2 New Sharon

244 Front St., Farmington

778-4520 (store) 778-5674 (rental)
farmersunion!@gwi.net

Russ Dodge, Jr.

1326 Exeter Rd., (Rte. 11 & 43) Exeter

379-2900 1 800 453-3337

Maines largest supplier of Poulin Grain & Pet Food

Land & Camps

Local land owner offer a variety of parcels For Sale.
Lake, River and Woodland. Owner financing.
Call 290-2901 or www.themainelandstore.com

In a related development, the Taunton Bay

Oyster Company has a
lease of 28 acres spread
over four sites and a
Limited Purpose Aquaculture License to cultivate and overwinter
oysters in tray racks,
cages and soft bags.

Globe Printing Co.

Office & Fax794-2973

Hardware * Electrical * Plumbing * Tarps

Tools * Grass Seed * Fertilizer & Soil * Mulch
Pet Supplies * Electric Fence Supplies
Gates * Corral panels * Wood Pellets & Much more...

H ours: M on-Fri 7-5 / Sat 8-12

Agriculture
Water Farm
Cordination
Editor:

Dana Morse
Extension
Associate

Maine Sea
Grant College
Program
and UMaine
Cooperative
Extension
193 Clarks
Cove

Darling
Marine Ctr.
Walpole, ME
04573
207.563.8186
Fax

207. 563.3119

The MET is a collaboration of Maine

Sea Grant and the
Univ. Of Maine Cooperative
Extension. Its members
live and work along
the coast, providing
educational and applied research programs to Maines
citizens in the area
of coastal community development,
ecosystem health,
fisheries, and aquaculture.

ACORD AUTO.COM
Rte. 197 Main St. RICHMOND
207 737- 4448
Acordauto@roadrunner

Forest Land Services * Master Logger Certified

Forest Road Construction * Culverts
Truck/Trailer & Heavy Equipment Parts & Service

- The Maine Land Store -

is a
biennial case study of
various investments by
the Maine Association
of Nonprofits (MANP)
noting that scallop fishing
has become
a
big
new
part
of
Maines
economic lifeblood,
helping to maintain a
thriving, ecologically
sustainable economy.
Praising
a
non-profit headed by
Robin Alden and based
here; the report states
that last years winter
scallop landings were
worth more than $5
million to the state, up
from a low of $200,000
in 2004. Alden noted
the collaborative approach scallop management has taken, has
resulted in a management style that improved the science, set
new rules and has made
responsible adaptations
tied to local resource
conditions and now
yields a much better
outcome with all parties contributing to an
evolving process of
community-scale fishery.
The Resource
Center works with fishermen, regulators and
the scientific community to revive Maines
ocean fishery.

All went under

review with DMR
March 11 and were
a part of work sessions at the 40th annual Fishermans
Forum in Rockport, the weekend
of March 7, 8.

L I N COL N

TREELINE, INC.
PO Box 127 Phone: 207 794-2044
Lincoln, ME 04457 Fax: 207 794-2047
www.treeline.biz

A
new report,